BRENTWOOD, Essex, 6th July, 2011 – Ford car sales beat the downward market trend in June and again boosted its UK leadership with increased sales and share, compared with June 2010.  The Ford Fiesta and the Ford Focus were once more the number one and two bestsellers in June, and for the year to date, with the Ford Transit continuing its 46th year as the best-selling commercial vehicle (CV) in the UK.

Official figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that total UK car sales in June, compared with June 2010, were down 6.2 per cent to 183,125 units.  Ford car sales of 24,461were up from 23,716 in June 2010 and Ford's share of total car sales was 13.4 per cent, up from 12.1 per cent.  For the year to date, Ford total car sales are 144,481 and its share is 14.0 per cent.

Ford's fresh and exciting car range continues to boost sales to individual customers as indicated by a June retail market share of 11.8 per cent, up from 10.9 per cent in June 2010.  For the year to date the Ford share of retail car sales is 12.7 per cent, a full 1.1 percentage points better than the same period in 2010.

Nigel Sharp, Ford of Britain managing director, said: "Ford's position as UK market leader was consolidated further in June with sales and market share trending upwards against the background of a highly competitive market.  A particularly good indicator for our business is the increase in retail car share, which again underlines both the benefit of our strong dealer network and our best-ever vehicle range."

The Ford Ka, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus and Ford C-MAX all secured increased sales and share in June, compared with June 2010.  For the year to date C-MAX sales, at 9,383, are more than double the sales of 4,044 recorded for the same period last year.

Ford total vehicle sales and share were up for the month, increasing from 29,163 and 13.3 per cent in June 2010 to 30,628 and 14.6 per cent last month.  For the year to date total vehicle share is also up from 15.2 to 15.4 per cent, compared with the same period last year, with a large contribution for this improvement coming from CV sales, which are up across the whole range with light and medium CV sales and share up for the month and for the year to date compared with 2010.

Ford Transit, for example, increased its sales in June from 4,007 to 4,778 compared with June 2010, while for the year to date Transit sales were up from 21,082 to 29,303and its medium CV share increased from 23.4 to 25.0 per cent, compared with the same period in 2010.  Total Ford CV sales increased in June from 5,447 to 6,167, compared with June 2010 and for the year to date have increased from 29,432 to 37,277,compared with the same period last year.

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Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 164,000 employees and about 70 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.co.uk

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